The Hard Way
by anonymouscartilage
Summary: This way, they can pretend to stand each other while trying to survive until the day she awakens. But let's be honest, it wouldn't be so bad if she never did.
1. Blessings and Curses

Her fingers were cold, her head was heavy, and the world was dark.

Kanade blinked away the dust from her eyes, thick from what felt like years of sleep and weak from disuse. However, the darkness did not fade, nor was she able to discern shapes or shadows. Slowly, she tried focusing her eyes, only to find that her eyelashes brushed against something clinging to her face.

Raising a hand to her face she found that cloth covered both eyes, and upon further probing, it reached far up her forehead, wrapping tightly around her head. Slowly, her hand moved down toward her nose, but found that the slight upward curve no longer stood out as it had before. Behind the bandages she blinked carefully, then tried to furrow her brow before a dull pain washed over her whole face. She started to pull both hands toward her head when her right hand caught against something.

She fingered the small plastic clamp that had been placed over her finger, and followed the cord until it fell off the side of the bed. To her right she startled to hear a low mechanical beeping.

She gave off a small gasp as she shot up in bed. The sterile smell of hospitals burned through her missing nostrils as she tried to inhale, and a paper-thin gown bunched around her waist. As the realization hit, Kanade found it hard to breathe, and as she cradled her broken face between her bandaged hands, she felt a thick warmth pooling from where her tears should have been coming.

She didn't notice the footsteps outside her door, she couldn't see the shocked faces when the nurses found her crying blood, and she didn't hear their voices calling her name.

But she did feel the familiar weight of a body sitting beside her. Through the smell of rubbing alcohol and her own blood she could smell grease and soy sauce. A pair of warm arms came around her cold body, face pressing gently into the side of her head. Still gasping for air, Kanade tried to make sense of the words whispered into her ears. But all she could hear was the warmth of the whispers and all she could do was cling to her father in the darkness. 

* * *

><p>'My child, why do you cry?'<p>

A gentle hand pressed against her shoulder, shaking her awake. Kanade pressed her face further into the folds of her jacket, hoping the persistent voice above her could take a hint.

'My dear, if you do not rise, you will miss breakfast,' the voice chided.

A small growling replied to the man before she could turn her head to tell him off. She sat up on the bench she had been asleep on, blushing and clutching at her betraying stomach as the reverend kneeling beside her fell into laughter. He held out a small tray with a bowl of cooling porridge and a bottle of water. She turned away from the food to glare at him and was met with a handkerchief and a kind smile. One last tear slid down her cheek.

'Someone so young should not be troubled to tears in the House of the Lord,' he said as she quickly dabbed at her eyes. Still half asleep, she didn't notice the stain on the stark white cloth until the reverend reached for it, and she froze as he took in the sight of blood.

'My dear,' he began in a voice that had her internally cursing.

'It's nothing, I just… it's just that-' she fumbled for an excuse as her heart began to race. Shit, she thought, I can't be caught here.

'It's a miracle!' the reverend whispered.

'Excuse me?' She deadpanned.

Kanade found herself dumbstruck. Did this man seriously find her abnormality to be a religious marvel?

'It's as if the the spirit of God has entered you today and blessed you with His love and grace!'

The reverend's face glowed as though he was the one being blessed, she thought as she glanced around to see if his outburst had been heard by anyone else. Seeing that they were mostly alone, Kanade turned back to him, picked up the now cold porridge, shoving a heap into her mouth, trying to play off the relief she felt.

'Honestly, I'd rather be blessed with warm clothes than be a walking stigmata.'

'But my dear,' he insisted, 'don't you see, He has accepted you into His heart and-'

'Father,' she warned, cutting her eyes at him, 'being warm and fed will get you farther in life than living off of grace and love.'

The reverend considered her for a moment, stroking his chin. Finally he stood, and with a smile offered his hand. 'Let's see what we can do about that then.' 

* * *

><p>She was tall, almost as tall as the reverend, so finding something to fit her took over an hour of searching through the church's lost and found. The last shirt she had to her name was pathetic: thin, full of holes, and seemed to steal heat rather than preserve it. Her pants could have been blue once, but years on the road had stained them almost black, and they always smelled of ash and blood.<p>

The old tattered jacket she'd had for almost five years now was reduced to a pile of rags stitched together, and though it had served her well, Kanade reluctantly agreed to throw it out. She remembered the countless times she'd tried to repair it, the loose threads tearing over and over until she had wanted to burn it for warmth instead of wear it.

Sitting next to a large pile of tattered clothes she mentally smacked herself for thinking that she would be able to find anything decent in a church's lost and found box. But when the reverend had offered her anything she could fit into, she bit her tongue, knowing whatever she could find would be better than trying to survive the upcoming winter in rags.

So she sat, trying on anything and everything. Countless shirts and threadbear tunics, a few pairs of pants, all of which were too big for her. Even several thin dresses, a couple skirts, and one pair of overalls that she eyed warily before tossing aside.

By the time she had reached the bottom of the box, she had found two nice shirts, a warm sweater, three pairs of pants - all of them too short, but who was she to turn away free? - and even a pair of hiking boots. Those got her excited as she tore off her duct-taped sneakers and pushed her feet inside. The warmth surprised her, and she wiggled her toes almost cheerily as she tightened the laces. She decided to part with her old shoes, as she had with her jacket, and reached out to set them inside the now empty box.

As she pulled her hand out, she brushed against one last piece of fabric. Not knowing how she had missed it, Kanade pulled out a thick piece of clothing that frankly confused her. She turned it this way and that, until she stood up and extended it and found sleeves, a collar, and finally, the cleverly hidden buttons running down the coat's centre.

Light in weight, yet as she shrugged into it, the jacket surprised her once again by surrounding her in a cozy warmth that she hadn't felt in years. Heat tingled up her arms with the long sleeves that fell to her fingertips and clutched at her shoulders when she stretched.

As she began to button up, she noticed the remains of what might have once been tailcoats on the front and back of the coat, now only slightly burnt and ripped pieces remained. She fingered the torn fabric, trying to convince herself that the dark stains weren't blood. 

* * *

><p>It was dark as she left the church, a small loaf of bread stuffed into her bag, along with a tiny bible the reverend had pressed into her hand as she left. He had promised her a place to sleep and a meal to eat should she ever need it. She thanked him, and waited until he closed the door behind her before hurrying into the nearest alleyway. She threw her bag to the ground, digging around her new garments until she found a length of leather straps.<p>

Undoing the buttons on the coat, she tied it to her waist as she threaded the straps over her sweater, the bands crossing in an x over her back and fastening together across her chest.

From deep within her bag Kanade then drew out two neatly wrapped packages. She gently unwrapped and unsheathed a set of twin blades. Gleaming with oil, the swords shone briefly in the moonlight as she inspected them. When she was satisfied that they hadn't been damaged in her previous fight, she sheathed them, and attached both swords to two clasps attached to the leather bands at her back.

Satisfied with her work, Kanade adored her coat and bag once again and set out of the alleyway. She followed the light of the moon until she reached a beach. To her left, the beach continued seemingly forever, the water stretching farther than she could see. Endless amounts of waves and sand, miles upon miles she'd already walked several times. She thought if she looked carefully, she might be able to see her footprints still fresh in the sand.

But to her right sat a harbour. Loud and bright compared to the quiet beach opposite it. Dozens, if not hundreds of people working, drinking, singing, waiting for their next departure.

Every other week for the past three months Kanade had found herself on this beach, stuck with the decision of walking the beach, or riding a ship. To stay on this island, or to leave it; to go left, or right.

Tonight is no different, she finds as she kicks a stone into the lapping water. She has no connection to this island anymore, she has traversed every square mile, visited every bar, killed every monster…

A voice in the back of her head tells her that there is nothing left for her here, and she doesn't glance back toward the small town as she walks toward the docks. 

* * *

><p>Several miles away, a man sits upon his ship nursing a half empty bottle of wine. He's had a shitty week, his men are restless, and all he wanted to do was find a pretty lady and have a good night before shipping off.<p>

He'd spotted a girl earlier that night, long dark hair, pale face framed with choppy bangs, a funny looking trench coat. She would have done, he thought, taking a swig of the wine, if she hadn't almost broken his hand when he tried to get her attention.

He'd just stumbled out of a bar with a few of his crewmembers when she'd walked by, and he turned to his men with a wink. He called out to her, but she had ignored him. He reached out a hand to grab her arm and before he could blink, she had his arm twisted at a painful angle. The street that was once busy and loud was suddenly deafening with it's silence. And then she spoke.

'Don't. Touch. Me.'

By the time she'd let go of his arm, the direction of his blood flow reversed, flooding his face a deep angry red. Eventually one of his men said something to another, and they both burst into drunken laughter. His embarrassment quickly returned to anger and he had knocked a tooth out of each of their heads before heading back to the ship.

The man now found himself sitting on the deck of his cargo ship, the bottle of wine he'd stolen that night now empty. He picked up the glass, wondering if he had become a seasoned drinker, or if the wine had just been too weak to affect him. When he noticed the label read 1967 he shrugged, muttering about 'cheap-ass wine.'

Chucking the bottle off the edge of the ship, he waited until it hit the rocks nestled beside the pier, and smirked at the sound of it shattering. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, stuck one in his mouth and tried to light it with a match. A breeze came up then and threatened to put out the lit cigarette as it fell out of his hand.

There was a scent in the air. Something that was so familiar to him that it rattled his bones, broke him into a sweat, and had him stumbling toward the edge of the ship.

She was near.

He could feel it in his blood. She was close, coming closer to him. His body suddenly slumped forward, his head knocking against his knees as he curled up on the deck. He smiled, cruel mouth full of pointed teeth.

She was coming to him, and this time, he wasn't going to let her get away. 

* * *

><p>chapter 1, revised! i like it so much better now. thoughts?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

so this took way too long to get right. but yay here's chapter 2~ 

* * *

><p>Their birthday party was in about two hours and here she was, waiting as patiently as an eight year old can, tapping her toe as Kai stood at the meat counter, examining two packages. He'd almost settle for one, until he began thinking about how many people were expected to show up, remembered who wouldn't eat this type of meat, and would place both prepackaged meats aside, reaching for another set. He did this six times before Hibiki groaned loudly behind him.<p>

'Daaaaad, you're taking forever,' Hibiki drolled, leaning onto their buggy. When he turns around, she sticks out her tongue at him when he goes back to comparing beef and chicken. They've got most of the food prepared for the party, the only items in the cart are last minute pickups, as well as a few packs of chips and bottles of soda that Hibiki and her sister snuck in while Kai was distracted.

Kai smiles at his younger daughter, grabbing two packages of the beef he'd been inspecting. He ruffles her hair after he sets them inside the cart, smirking at the snacks that they'd thrown in.

'You girls are gonna eat me out of house and home, y'know,' he sighs as he takes the cart from her, aiming it toward the front of the store.

They stop in an aisle full of small party supplies, including paper plates, sets of plastic forks, spoons, and knives. When Kai stops to see they'd need anything else, Hibiki puffs out her cheeks in annoyance. She pressed her hands to his back, pushing as hard as her small body can.

It turns out that someone so small has quite a bit of strength, Kai finds as he is pushed a few feet forward by his very, albeit cutely, irritated daughter. 'Dad! We don't need anything else, let's go!' He looks back to see her face red, nose scrunching up and pouting. He laughs, and suddenly starts walking backwards, pushing against Hibiki.

'Dad! No!' She tries to be mad, but the face Kai gives her has her bursting into laughter along with him.

Eventually Kai lets her push him further toward the front, and as they round the last corner, a strange sound reaches their ears. Peaking around the corner, Hibiki's jaw drops and she grabs Kai's shirt, pointing him toward a small table adorned with flowers.

The family that owns the store has a son a year older than Hibiki and Kanade, and he attends the same school they do, just one classroom down from theirs. He is short, loud, and sometimes rude to the girls, and Hibiki tends to stick out her tongue at him when they cross paths in the hall. So for the life of her, she cannot fathom why her sister is standing at the table with him, head tucked down, quietly laughing and blushing.

Hibiki is thoroughly confused. _I must be going mad,_ she thinks. She scrubs at her eyes and blinks hard. But as before, the figure of her sister stands beside that boy, and she is _blushing_. Hibiki turns toward Kai, and finds him crouched beside her, hand over his mouth to hide what might have been giggling. 'What is she _doing_?' She whispers to him, confused beyond words. 'I've never seen her like this,' Kai whispers back, 'I should have brought my camera.'

They turn back toward the couple, straining to hear anything of their conversation. However they were too far away to make out much, and from the way Kanade was murmuring, they had to rely on the boy, who spoke loudly enough for the both of them.

'You should take one cause my da says it's what every man should get a girl for her birthday and he always gives one to ma on hers so just take it, before I change my mind!' He shoves a rose towards Kanade, whose blush deepens, and she backs away shaking her head.

'I c-can't accept this, a-and you can't just give away things for free!' Kanade manages, head poking up between her bangs, finally looking the boy in the face. His face turns bright red as he grips the rose tighter, and he begins to pout. 'Then I'll pay for it, b-but you can have it since it's your birthday!'

He shoves the flower into her hand, and marches to the cash register, where his older brother tries to look like he hadn't been watching the entire exchange. The boy throws a coin at him, and as his brother stumbles to catch in midair, he shouts: 'ONE FLOWER FOR THE GIRL WITH PRETTY BLACK HAIR CAUSE ITS HER BIRTHDAY!'

Kanade whips around to find the entire store staring at her, Hibiki and Kai bursting into laughter, an elderly couple smiling sweetly, and the boy's brother winks at her as he puts the change in the drawer.

Her face turned an impossibly darker shade of red before she bolted out the front door.

* * *

><p>Both arms full of groceries, Kai struggles to catch up with his daughters after Hibiki followed her sister when she fled from the store. Still laughing about the events prior, Kai doesn't notice how far Hibiki chases Kanade until they are almost two blocks away.<p>

'Girls, don't go too far!' He calls as Hibiki manages to snatch the rose from Kanade. She holds it above her head as she sprints the last block to their house. Kanade yells at her sister, taking off after her.

Kai shakes his head as he juggles the bags in his hands, and starts jogging. The girls turn the last corner a block ahead of him, and he laughs again, wondering how he had come by two perfect, yet so wonderfully flawed, little girls. A set of twins that were different in almost every way, and yet if he thought hard enough,, he couldn't tell them apart. A brief image of his sister flashed through his mind, smiling and happy, and he was suddenly overcome with the wish that she was there to watch her nieces grow up. _Saya would be proud,_ he knew this by heart, but had to remind himself every now and then.

As he approached the corner his girls had rounded, a shrill scream echoed back from within the small space. The blood drained from Kai's face, and a sudden chill swept over his body.

All the groceries he'd carefully selected for the party littered the ground as he overcame the corner, uncovering the gun holstered to his hip. His heart leapt into his throat, praying that his worst dreams weren't about to come true.

Kanade lay face down on the ground, Hibiki was sobbing, crouching over her sister, shaking her, begging her to _get up._

A figure loomed in the darkness behind them, its glowing red eyes confirming what Kai had feared. _Chiropteran,_ he thought grimly. It shook violently inside the shade of the trees, growled softly before lunging from the shadows toward the girls.

Kai shouted at the girls to cover their ears and took aim. He unloaded a full magazine before realizing that the bullets weren't doing the damage that they should have. The chiropteran fell, clutching its face where most of the bullets had landed. Kai unclipped the magazine, cursing when he saw the bullets weren't the correct ones, the special type of ammo that would jump start the crystallization process. The kind that Red Shield had been using since the last queen had entered her sleep.

He fumbled quickly in his pocket for the correct magazine, and nearly dropped it when the chiropteran shuffled to its feet, staggering towards the girls. Heart now in his throat, Kai, still trying to fit the magazine into the gun, ran at the beast, desperately trying to get between it and his daughters.

In his attempt to reach the girls, Kai ended up face down on the ground, having tripped over his own two feet. He pulled himself up, face scratched and bleeding, the clip sliding several feet away. The chiropteran stumbled back upright and threw its head back with a shriek that send chills throughout his body. Hibiki covered her ears, crying out as she leaned over her sister. Kanade groaned and shifted beneath her chest. Spent bullets pushed their way back out of its flesh and onto the pavement, clicking loudly in the alleyway. Tears formed in Kai's eyes as the creature took a step towards the girls.

The entire alley became silent, save for the monster's shuffling. Hibiki sobbed silently, too afraid to make a noise, and even Kai's tears dropped noiselessly to the ground beneath him. A single, small, pale hand reached up from under Hibiki suddenly, moving toward the chiropteran, fingers curled threateningly. Kai watched, too stunned to gasp as Kanade leaned onto her sister and pushed herself upright. She stumbled until she stood directly in front of the chiropteran, her small hand still clenching and flexing before it started to shift.

When her hand was once delicate and her nails blunt, the skin stretched and her nails grew long and sharp. As she flexed, the bones in her hand enlarged until it seemed out of proportion to her small frame. The chiropteran didn't seem to notice the physical change, though it seemed to sense that what stood before it was not human. It ambled slowly forward until it loomed in front of her, leaning down and inhaling.

Ever so easily, as if she had done it a thousand times, Kanade reared her arm back, and brought it forward again, her hand sinking into the flesh of the chiropteran all the way to her forearm. The creature screeched as she began to pull her arm back out, and swiped an arm down toward her, grabbing her up and tossing her aside.

Hibiki's scream woke Kai up from the dreamlike state he sat in. The magazine finally clicked into place and he emptied it just as quickly into the belly of the beast. It shrieked, falling to the ground, clutching its stomach, and twitched as it was slowly consumed by crystals.

As soon as the chiropteran had fell, Kai and Hibiki raced to where Kanade lay crumpled on the ground. Hibiki hovered, wringing her hands as Kai picked up the elder twin. There was a moment when it felt as though she wasn't breathing, but as Kai turned her over, she fell into a coughing fit.

Kai winced as he saw the blood dripping down her chin.

'Kanade? Baby, you okay?' He called to her with a pet name he knew she had never liked, and grew nervous when she didn't respond. He cradled her head with one hand, and she turned until she was facing away from him, her hair covering the upper half of her face. His hands shook as he had to peel the stands away, thick with blood, _her_ blood.

Where her long lashes once curled up so sweetly, from where her brows would furrow so thoughtfully, and where her nose could sniff out any trouble her sister would be getting into, a mess of open skin and deep red began to pour down her face, soaking her father's hands. Deep gashes revealed sinew and muscle, flaps of skin torn back like wet paper hung from the side of her face. Over each eye the lids were graced with a deep slit, each lid shut tight and hiding the further damage to her eyes.

Kai could only stare at his daughter's broken face, her limp body in his hands, her warm blood staining his skin. He brushed his hand down her cheek to her untouched lips, just minutes ago calling out to her sister, and before that, stuttering at a boy she probably had a crush on.

Kai forgot about the party, he lost all thoughts on all the preparations that he'd juggled around just so everything would be perfect for his girls. He couldn't remember how many people were supposed to be showing up in a couple hours, he didn't remember how he was going to cook the meat, or where he had hidden the gifts, let alone what he had bought them.

His face full of his broken daughter, only eight years old, nearly as proficient at killing chiropteran as her aunt had been when she first awoke her powers. His little girl, the stronger of the twins, the one who always got up after falling, who never cried over a scraped knee, who rarely ever cried…

Kai gripped Kanade closer to his chest, and stood, tearing his eyes away from the damage done to the first twin. He turned toward the second, only to find Hibiki sitting next to him, eyes full of her sister's broken face. He called out to her several times before she turned toward him.

'Hibiki,' he said grimly, 'I-'

The look she gave him then filled his eyes with fresh tears. He pulled out his phone to dial Red Shield's ambulance, and when they arrived, found the three of them huddled together, Hibiki holding Kanade's hand and pulled tightly against Kai. Later, they all found it disturbing how she never did cry.

* * *

><p>There once was a time when the alarm would come, and she would find herself hunched over a toilet bowl, or clutching the edge of the kitchen sink, holding her bleeding hand under the water, trying to muffle her crying.<p>

From the time she was young, Hibiki never could get used to the tone that would ring out from Kai's phone. When she was old enough to pick up a weapon and fight, she'd been given a cell phone for her birthday, equipped with Red Shield's alarm, and preprogrammed with its members numbers. The phone would give off the same ringtone whenever a chiropteran was in the area, alerting all members nearby.

As she still lived with Kai, the alert would only come to them when the restaurant was closed, and today was no different. Thirty minutes after they had locked the doors, as Kai was washing dishes, and Hibiki counted the money, a small noise came from her phone, and shortly after, on Kai's as well. Had she been younger, Hibiki would have froze on the spot, likely dropped anything she was holding to run to her father or her sister. However, no one had seen Kanade in nearly five years, and she'd had to learn to wipe away the tears without her.

She calmly finished counting, set the money back inside the till, and wrote the amount down. Kai emerged from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel as a knock sounded from the back door. A moment later, David and Lewis, trailed by Lulu and Sara - David and Julia's daughter - entered from the back. Their grim faces spoke for them as Lewis set a tablet on the counter.

'It's seems we've been pressing our luck these days,' Lewis commented as he opened a map on the screen. 'There hasn't been an attack in the area for a couple of months now, and just when we think we might be getting some well deserved vacation time, one shows up in our own backyard.' The map he opened shows a shipyard, the very same one Hibiki realized, where Kai had encountered his first fight with one of the monsters.

'It was spotted only ten minutes ago, if we move quickly, we can kill it before it tries attacking any humans in the area.' David points to a series of marks on the map, 'we'll be setting the trap here,' he points out. 'Hibiki,' all heads turn toward her, 'we would like for you to draw the chiropteran into the center here, and you would be the first to attack it.'

Hibiki turns back to the map, drumming her fingers on the table beside it, her other hand finding its way to her mouth. She'd never been good with fighting alone in cramped, dark places. That had been her sister's preferred way of taking the creatures down.

'Where will everyone else be set up?' She asks, biting at the skin around her nails. Lewis points out several markers close to the centre of the trap.

'We won't be too far behind you,' Kai speaks up. His gaze reassures her, and she nods.

One by one, they each clasp a hand to her shoulder. David and Kai squeeze gently; Lewis and Lulu pull her into a hug, promising they'll be right behind her. Sara lingers after the rest turn away. When Hibiki gives her a puzzled look, she smirks, and gives her a thumbs up.

'We won't let anything happen to you, kiddo.'

* * *

><p>Before she realized it, they were already minutes away from the docks. The small, windowless van they had crammed into was making Hibiki feel sick. Everyone's knees and elbows seemed to knock against someone else's, earning complaints from just about them all. Hibiki sat closest to the door, Sara to her side, talking through the whole ride.<p>

'Try not to maul it too badly, this time. We haven't had any good specimens to examine in a long time, so to have a fresh new body to dissect would be wonderful. Think you could do that for me?' Sara spoke with her eyes open wide and her hands clutched close to her chest. Hibiki was glad for the distraction, her stomach turning over every bump in the road.

'Sure, I'll try not to damage anything that would mess up your research,' she smiled softly at her friend. 'It must be hard, having to wait for new chiropteran to show up before you can keep experimenting and finding out ways that we can stop them.'

'Oh, it gets so frustrating, waiting for sometimes half a year between new, fresh subjects. Plus, we can't pull some random guy off the street and experiment on him, anyway. We would end up like Cinq Fleches if we tried doing that.' Sara nodded enthusiastically at this, though she knows that if she could, she would give her left arm just to have _something _to experiment on.

'But we can't do that,' she continued, sighing. 'Mother says that the great fight between Queens would begin all over again.'

Hibiki leaned toward Sara, and wiggled fingers against her side. 'I don't think our dads could survive another _soap opera,' _she whispered.

The van screeched to a halt, having arrived at the docks, and the back doors pulled open to allow Hibiki and Sara to tumble out onto the ground. They landed in a tangle of limbs, Hibiki hiding her face against Sara's chest as they broke out into a howling fit of laughter.

When they finally gathered themselves, they joined the group of Red Shield members standing around the front of the van. David was handing out the specialized magazines they were 'only to use as a last resort,' he repeated when he spotted Sara. She grinned sheepishly as she took the clip, and Hibiki knew she hadn't ever used those bullets. Though it was likely improbable that she would get a good specimen to examine, the chances were always slim.

Hibiki and Lulu were the only ones to carry blades as their weapons. With their training and speed, a gun would only slow them down. Occasionally she would carry a gun, having been trained after she had begged Kai to let her shoot his gun, _just once, please? _Usually she only carried a gun when an operation called for discretion, but she always had smaller knives on her at all times.

Her training with a gun was not as thorough as it had been with her blade, but Hibiki felt grateful on the few missions where she was unable to use her blade when she knew how to aim, and when to pull the trigger.

As the group went over the plan once more, Hibiki unsheathed her blade. She inspected its surface, checked its weight, and pretended she wasn't copying her sister as she looked for any possible defects.

'Hibiki,' called David, almost causing her to trip over her own feet as she turned to where the crew stood. 'We're going to incorporate your blood into the trap tonight. Are you alright with that?'

She recalled missions before when they'd started using her blood to attract the chiropteran, looked down at the place on her hand that she would cut open to make spreading it out easier. Her rapid regeneration abilities proved useful then, the small amount of bloodletting didn't affect her as it did with other humans.

She squared her shoulders, rolled her wrist, her blade catching on the last glimmers of sunlight. 'Let's do this.'

* * *

><p>She'd heard its growls before she could see it.<p>

All the shadows looked the same to her, so she would stop at every corner, hooked a finger against her blade and pulled until she could hear her blood hitting the ground, paused for a few heart pounding seconds, and then sprinted quietly to the next marked corner. Each shipping container had been marked with a wire that she would grab a hold of, pulling until the line snapped, and somewhere in the middle of the maze, the trap they'd set for the chiropteran became even more ready for the beast.

At last she reached the final marker. Hibiki sprinted to the center of the trap just as the chiropteran ambled up to the last few drops of blood she'd spilled for it. She leaned down quickly and wiped the rest of the blood off of her hand. The creature dragged a claw through the dark liquid behind her, inhaling deeply as it raised its hand. Its head reared up as it caught scent of the newer, fresh blood. She ducked behind the final container as a voice came over her headset.

'Alright, it's almost there. Just wait for it to get to the center of the area marked.' David spoke urgently, and she felt her heart beat faster as the figure crossed over the lines they'd marked. 'Just give us the signal when you're ready.'

A shuffling sound came from the circle in front of her, though she didn't see the chiropteran move, she gripped the handle of her blade, taking several deep breaths. Squinting against the darkness she saw the figure slowly crouch, step toward where her blood was, and then the shape of the chiropteran became clear as it shifted in the darkness, moving directly for the middle of the circle.

Hibiki raised her blade, and gave the signal.

* * *

><p>Several seconds passed as she silently counted. In exactly four seconds Lewis would activate the last marker, turning on a series of lights that would surround the creature, blinding it so that Hibiki could attack.<p>

_One Mississippi_

Hibiki felt her heart in her throat.

_Two Mississippi_

She adjusted a set a glasses over her face.

_Three Mississippi_

She breathed in.

_Four Mississippi_

The lights cut on, and she tried to scream.

* * *

><p>The chiropteran stumbled, blood spurting from one arm, the other curling around its face as the lights burst into existence. It stumbled backwards, tripping over its severed arm, and reached out toward the girl. Before its claws closed over her crumpled form Lulu jumped out from the darkness, raising her blade to remove the remaining arm from its body. As she retreated back into the darkness, a round of thunder seemed to overcome the chiropteran.<p>

David, Lewis, Kai, and Sara lowered their guns as the beast slumped forward, its body slowly crystallizing. Sara slumped, complaining about the loss as David phoned for the cleanup crew. Lulu skipped up to Lewis who held up a large hand over his head. Kai smirked as Lulu attempted to reach Lewis' hand with her own, and began to unload his empty magazine.

Sara walked over to the frozen body of her sought after test subject, and sighed heavily. She sniffled a little, wiping her nose on the back of her hand, turning toward Hibiki. 'Well, so much for my experiments, yeah. What d'you say to a movie night instead? I'll get the popcorn this time.'

Silence hung in the air as everyone waited for Hibiki to respond as she usually did, whining about how Sara always picked the worst movies. The only sound they heard, however, was the violent retching that came from the slumped form.

The five turned towards the heaving figure at the center of the lights, her hunched body dripping bile and blood. Each of them paused, watching as she reached for her blade, thrown down beside her, and a sudden coughing fit overcame her once more.

Kai reached forward at the same moment that Sara took a few steps toward her friend. 'H-hey, Hibiki?' Sara hesitated, reaching out a hand. 'Are you okay?'

She struggled to gulp in breath after breath of air, covering her face as though the glasses they'd given her had been broken during the fight. A small hiccup sounded from behind, and they turned in sync, guns raised. The quivering and shaken form of Hibiki flinched at the weapons they met her with, her sword clutched to her chest, the blood still drying.

'Hibiki?' Kai stuttered out, forcing them all the lower their weapons. 'What happened? Are you alright?'

The glasses lay loosely around her neck, her eyes wide and lips trembling. They called out to her several times, their voices growing softer as it seemed she could not respond. They came to stand before her, Kai gripping her by her shoulders, trying to look her in the eyes; the others hesitating behind him, not knowing if she was nearly about to lose her mind. Just as David was pulling up his wife's number, a soft moan sounded off behind them.

The figure that still sat hunched beside the pile of dust that was previously the chiropteran groaned softly, her hands drawing back slowly from her bleeding face. A pair of blood red eyes glowed from between her fingers, glaring at them all before recognition set in. Her eyes faded back to a light hazel as the faces that she knew from infancy stared back at her.

Hibiki could not tear her eyes away from her sister, and long after the lights had been shut off, Kanade had held her in place with the strength of her gaze.


End file.
